Systems and methods for writing zeros to a memory array

ABSTRACT

A memory device may include a memory array that includes multiple memory cells. The memory device may also include multiple sense amplifiers that, in operation, may each be connected to one or more memory cells. The sense amplifiers may be designed to assist in writing logical zeros to the multiple memory cells.

BACKGROUND

Embodiments described herein relate generally to the field of memorydevices. More specifically, the current embodiments include one or moresystems, devices, and methods for utilizing address counters for writingzeros to a memory array.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Various modes of operation in memory devices may require access to largesections or all of the memory array on the memory device. For example,in certain instances, such as testing, the memory device may be set to amode such that each memory cell of the memory array may be individuallyaccessed. The accessing of each memory cell in certain modes ofoperation may be an iterative process such that each of the memory cellsin the memory array is sequentially accessed. In order to facilitatesuch functionality, it may be desirable to provide fast and efficientmethods and structures for allowing access to each memory cell in asequential manner. Further, such sequential access should be providedwithout necessitating the usage of extra hardware components which mayincrease cost of the memory device and increase the size of the memorydevice. Accordingly, embodiments described herein may be directed to oneor more of the problems set forth above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a memory device, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the memory device of FIG.2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a portion of the memory device of FIG. 2,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a Fast Zero mode of operation, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating a Fast Zero mode of operation,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a Fast Zero mode of operation, inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating a Fast Zero mode of operation,in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

As is described in detail below, it may be desirable to read/write aspecific set or pattern of logic (e.g., 1s and 0s) in a memory array. Indoing so, memory devices may employ modes of operation that facilitatesequential access to all memory cells or large blocks of memory cells ina memory array. For instance, in double data rate type five synchronousdynamic random access memory (DDR5 SDRAM), certain modes of operation(e.g., Fast Zero mode, Error, Check and Scrub (ECS) mode, etc.) providethat each cell of the memory array is sequentially accessed. As will beappreciated, sequential access may be characterized by any rationalsequence (e.g., [0, 1, 2, 3 . . . ], [1, 3, 5, 7 . . . ], etc.).

In one embodiment, Fast Zero mode may be utilized to quickly writelogical zeros to all or part of the memory array with or without usingan input/output interface for each write. In order to sequentiallyaccess each memory cell, one or more commands may be received by thememory device. Controllers in the memory device may be used to generateinternal memory addresses such that each cell can be individuallyaccessed. One or more counters may be used to sequence through internaladdresses to access each memory cell of the array.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a simplified block diagram of a computer system10, which may provide for such sequential access of a memory device, isillustrated. The computer system 10 includes a controller 12 and amemory device 14. The controller 12 may include processing circuitry,such as one or more processors 16 (e.g., one or more microprocessors),that may execute software programs to provide various signals to thememory device 14 over one or more bi-directional communication buses 18to facilitate the transmission and receipt of data to be written to orread from the memory device 14. Moreover, the processor(s) 16 mayinclude multiple microprocessors, one or more “general-purpose”microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors, and/or oneor more application specific integrated circuits (ASICS), or somecombination thereof. For example, the processor(s) 16 may include one ormore reduced instruction set (RISC) processors.

The processor(s) 16 may be coupled to one or more memories 20 that maystore information such as control logic and/or software, look up tables,configuration data, etc. In some embodiments, the processor(s) 16 and/orthe memory 20 may be external to the controller 12. The memory 20 mayinclude a tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable-medium, such as avolatile memory (e.g., a random access memory (RAM)) and/or anonvolatile memory (e.g., a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, a harddrive, or any other suitable optical, magnetic, or solid-state storagemedium, or a combination thereof). The memory 20 may store a variety ofinformation and may be used for various purposes. For example, thememory 20 may store machine-readable and/or processor-executableinstructions (e.g., firmware or software) for the processor(s) 16 toexecute, such as instructions for providing various signals and commandsto the memory device 14 to facilitate the transmission and receipt ofdata to be written to or read from the memory device 14.

The memory device 14 includes a memory array 22 of individual memorycells. As described further below, the memory array 22 may include oneor more memory banks that may be grouped or partitioned in a variety ofways to provide access to the cells of the memory array 22, as describedbelow. The controller 12 may communicate with the memory device 14through one or more command and input/output (I/O) interfaces 24. Ingeneral, the command and input/output interfaces 24 provide access tovarious components of the memory device 14 by external devices, such asthe controller 12.

The memory device 14 may include a command decoder 26. The commanddecoder 26 may receive command signals from the command and input/output(I/O) interfaces 24 and may decode the command signals to providevarious internal commands. For instance, the command decoder 26 maydecode commands, such as read commands, write commands, mode-registerset commands, activate commands, etc., and provide access to specifiedregions of the memory array 22. As described above, certain modes ofoperation, such as the Fast Zero mode, may facilitate sequential accessto individual cells of the memory array 22. To facilitate thisfunctionality, the command decoder 26 includes a command controller 28that includes one or more individual controllers to control the addresssequencing when a particular mode command (e.g., Fast Zero command) isreceived. Further, in order to generate internal addresses to beaccessed sequentially, one or more counters 30 may also be provided.Because additional counters 30 may increase the cost and/or size of thememory device 14, it may be advantageous, in some embodiments of theFast Zero mode, to share the same counters 30 with other modes ofoperation to minimize the additional hardware used to generate theaddress sequencing to access the memory array 22. It should be notedthat while the command controller 28 and counters 30 are illustrated asbeing part of the command decoder 26, alternatively, these elements maybe provided elsewhere on the memory device 14.

The block diagram of FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustratingcertain additional features and related functionality of the memorydevice 14. In accordance with one embodiment, the memory device 14 maybe a double data rate type five synchronous dynamic random access memory(DDR5 SDRAM) device. Various features of DDR5 SDRAM allow for reducedpower consumption, more bandwidth, and more storage capacity compared toprior generations of DDR SDRAM.

The memory device 14, may include a memory array 22 logically andfunctionally grouped into a number of memory banks 32. The memory banks32 may be DDR5 SDRAM memory banks, for instance. The memory banks 32 maybe provided on one or more chips (e.g., SDRAM chips) that are arrangedon dual inline memory modules (DIMMS). Each DIMM may include a number ofSDRAM memory chips (e.g., ×8 or ×16 memory chips). Each SDRAM memorychip may include one or more memory banks 32. The memory device 14represents a portion of a single memory chip (e.g., SDRAM chip) having anumber of memory banks 32. For DDR5, the memory banks 32 may be furtherarranged to form bank groups. For instance, for an 8 gigabit (Gb) DDR5SDRAM, the memory chip may include 16 memory banks 32, arranged into 8bank groups, each bank group including 2 memory banks. For a 16 Gb DDR5SDRAM, the memory chip may include 32 memory banks 32, arranged into 8bank groups, each bank group including 4 memory banks, for instance.Various other configurations, organization and sizes of the memory banks32 on the memory device 14 may be utilized depending on the applicationand design of the overall system.

As previously described, the memory device 14 may include a commandinterface 34 and an input/output (I/O) interface 36. The commandinterface 34 is configured to provide a number of signals (e.g., signals38) from an external device, such as a processor 16 or controller 12.The processor 16 or controller 12 may provide various signals 38 overone or more bi-directional data buses (e.g., data bus 18) to and fromthe memory device 14 to facilitate the transmission and receipt of datato be written to or read from the memory device 14.

As will be appreciated, the command interface 34 may include a number ofcircuits, such as a clock input circuit 40 and a command address inputcircuit 42, for instance, to ensure proper handling of the signals 38.The command interface 34 may receive one or more clock signals from anexternal device. Generally, double data rate (DDR) memory utilizes adifferential pair of system clock signals, referred to herein as thetrue clock signal (Clk_t) and the complementary clock signal (Clk_c).The positive clock edge for DDR refers to the point where the risingtrue clock signal Clk_t crosses the falling complementary clock signalClk_c, while the negative clock edge indicates that transition of thefalling true clock signal Clk_t and the rising of the complementaryclock signal Clk_c. Commands (e.g., read command, write command, etc.)are typically entered on the positive edges of the clock signal and datais transmitted or received on both the positive and negative clockedges.

The clock input circuit 40 receives the true clock signal (Clk_t) andthe complementary clock signal (Clk_c) and generates an internal clocksignal CLK. The internal clock signal CLK is supplied to an internalclock generator 44, such as a delay locked loop (DLL) circuit. Theinternal clock generator 44 generates a phase controlled internal clocksignal LCLK based on the received internal clock signal CLK. The phasecontrolled internal clock signal LCLK is supplied to the I/O interface36, for instance, and is used as a timing signal for determining anoutput timing of read data.

The internal clock signal CLK may also be provided to various othercomponents within the memory device 14 and may be used to generatevarious additional internal clock signals. For instance, the internalclock signal CLK may be provided to a command decoder 26. The commanddecoder 26 may receive command signals from the command bus 50 and maydecode the command signals to provide various internal commands. Forinstance, the command decoder 26 may provide command signals to theinternal clock generator 44 over the bus 48 to coordinate generation ofthe phase controlled internal clock signal LCLK. The phase controlledinternal clock signal LCLK may be used to clock data through the I/Ointerface 36, for instance.

Further, the command decoder 26 may decode commands, such as readcommands, write commands, activate commands, mode-register set commands(e.g., Fast Zero commands, ECS commands, etc.), and provide access to aparticular memory bank 32 corresponding to the command, via the bus path52. As will be appreciated, the memory device 14 may include variousother decoders, such as row decoders and column decoders, to facilitateaccess to the memory banks 32. In one embodiment, each memory bank 32includes a bank control block 54 which provides the necessary decoding(e.g., row decoder and column decoder), as well as other features, suchas timing control and data control, to facilitate the execution ofcommands to and from the memory banks 32.

As previously described with regard to FIG. 1, the command decoder 26may include one or more command controllers 28 to facilitate certainfunctions, such as implementation of the Fast Zero mode. In addition,the command decoder 26 may include one or more counters 30 that may beutilized under control of the command controller(s) 28 to generateinternal addresses for sequential access of cells of the individualstorage locations within each memory bank 32.

The memory device 14 executes operations, such as read commands andwrite commands, based on the command/address signals received from anexternal device, such as a processor. In one embodiment, thecommand/address bus may be a 14-bit bus to accommodate thecommand/address signals (CA<13:0>). The command/address signals areclocked to the command interface 34 using the clock signals (Clk_t andClk_c). The command interface 34 may include a command address inputcircuit 42 which is configured to receive and transmit the commands toprovide access to the memory banks 32, through the command decoder 26,for instance. In addition, the command interface 34 may receive a chipselect signal (CS_n). The CS_n signal enables the memory device 14 toprocess commands on the incoming CA<13:0> bus. Access to specific banks32 within the memory device 14 is encoded on the CA<13:0> bus with thecommands.

In addition, the command interface 34 may be configured to receive anumber of other command signals. For instance, a command/address on dietermination (CA_ODT) signal may be provided to facilitate properimpedance matching within the memory device 14. A reset command (RESETn) may be used to reset the command interface 34, status registers,state machines and the like, during power-up for instance. The commandinterface 34 may also receive a command/address invert (CAI) signalwhich may be provided to invert the state of command/address signalsCA<13:0> on the command/address bus, for instance, depending on thecommand/address routing for the particular memory device 14. A mirror(MIR) signal may also be provided to facilitate a mirror function. TheMIR signal may be used to multiplex signals so that they can be swappedfor enabling certain routing of signals to the memory device 14, basedon the configuration of multiple memory devices in a particularapplication. Various signals to facilitate testing of the memory device14, such as the test enable (TEN) signal, may be provided, as well. Forinstance, the TEN signal may be used to place the memory device 14 intoa test mode for connectivity testing.

The command interface 34 may also be used to provide an alert signal(ALERT_n) to the system processor or controller for certain errors thatmay be detected. For instance, an alert signal (ALERT_n) may betransmitted from the memory device 14 if a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)error is detected. Other alert signals may also be generated. Further,the bus and pin for transmitting the alert signal (ALERT_n) from thememory device 14 may be used as an input pin during certain operations,such as the connectivity test mode executed using the TEN signal, asdescribed above.

Data may be sent to and from the memory device 14, utilizing the commandand clocking signals discussed above, by transmitting and receiving datasignals 56 through the I/O interface 36. More specifically, the data maybe sent to or retrieved from the memory banks 32 over the data path 52,which includes a plurality of bi-directional data buses. Data I/Osignals, generally referred to as DQ signals, are generally transmittedand received in one or more bi-directional data busses. For certainmemory devices, such as a DDR5 SDRAM memory device, the I/O signals maybe divided into upper and lower bytes. For instance, for a ×16 memorydevice, the I/O signals may be divided into upper and lower I/O signals(e.g., DQ<15:8> and DQ<7:0>) corresponding to upper and lower bytes ofthe data signals, for instance.

To allow for higher data rates within the memory device 14, certainmemory devices, such as DDR memory devices may utilize data strobesignals, generally referred to as DQS signals. The DQS signals aredriven by the external processor or controller sending the data (e.g.,for a write command) or by the memory device 14 (e.g., for a readcommand). For read commands, the DQS signals are effectively additionaldata output (DQ) signals with a predetermined pattern. For writecommands, the DQS signals are used as clock signals to capture thecorresponding input data. As with the clock signals (Clk_t and Clk_c),the data strobe (DQS) signals may be provided as a differential pair ofdata strobe signals (DQS_t and DQS_c) to provide differential pairsignaling during reads and writes. For certain memory devices, such as aDDR5 SDRAM memory device, the differential pairs of DQS signals may bedivided into upper and lower data strobe signals (e.g., UDQS_t andUDQS_c; LDQS_t and LDQS_c) corresponding to upper and lower bytes ofdata sent to and from the memory device 14, for instance.

An impedance (ZQ) calibration signal may also be provided to the memorydevice 14 through the I/O interface 36. The ZQ calibration signal may beprovided to a reference pin and used to tune output drivers and ODTvalues by adjusting pull-up and pull-down resistors of the memory device14 across changes in process, voltage and temperature (PVT) values.Because PVT characteristics may impact the ZQ resistor values, the ZQcalibration signal may be provided to the ZQ reference pin to be used toadjust the resistance to calibrate the input impedance to known values.As will be appreciated, a precision resistor is generally coupledbetween the ZQ pin on the memory device 14 and GND/VSS external to thememory device 14. This resistor acts as a reference for adjustinginternal ODT and drive strength of the TO pins.

In addition, a loopback signal (LOOPBACK) may be provided to the memorydevice 14 through the I/O interface 36. The loopback signal may be usedduring a test or debugging phase to set the memory device 14 into a modewherein signals are looped back through the memory device 14 through thesame pin. For instance, the loopback signal may be used to set thememory device 14 to test the data output (DQ) of the memory device 14.Loopback may include both a data and a strobe or possibly just a datapin. This is generally intended to be used to monitor the data capturedby the memory device 14 at the I/O interface 36.

As will be appreciated, various other components such as power supplycircuits (for receiving external VDD and VSS signals), mode registers(to define various modes of programmable operations and configurations),read/write amplifiers (to amplify signals during read/write operations),temperature sensors (for sensing temperatures of the memory device 14),etc., may also be incorporated into the memory system 10. Accordingly,it should be understood that the block diagram of FIG. 2 is onlyprovided to highlight certain functional features of the memory device14 to aid in the subsequent detailed description.

In some embodiments, the memory banks 32 may be divided into one or moresections 60, as shown in FIG. 3. Each section 60 may include a grid ofmultiple wordlines 62, also known as rows, and bitlines 64, also knownas digit lines. The intersection of a wordline 62 and a bitline 64 maythen yield an individual memory cell 66 to store a single bit of data.Although logical data (e.g., 1s and 0s) are stored in each memory cell66 defined by wordlines 62 and bitlines 64, to access the memory cells,each wordline 62 and bitline 64 may be assigned an address. Addresseswithin a section 60 may include a row address and a columns address.While a row address may include only one row/wordline 62, a columnaddress may include multiple columns 68, which, in turn, may alsoinclude multiple bitlines 64. For example, a column 68 may include eightbitlines 64, and a single column address may access sixteen columns 68.As such, 128 memory cells 66 (1×(8×16)) may be identified by the samerow and column address. This may be referred to as 16n pre-fetch becausesixteen columns 68 may be called upon by single column address. In someembodiments each column 68 may have more or fewer bitlines 64. Forexample, in one embodiment, each column includes one bitline 64. In sucha case, columns 68 and bitlines 64 may be one and the same. Furthermore,in some embodiments, a single column address may access just one column.Therefore, each row and column address may be associated with a singlememory cell 66. Although depicted in FIG. 3 with only ten wordlines 62and two columns 68, as will be appreciated, a section 60 may have anynumber of rows 62 and columns 68 depending on the application and designof the overall system.

On each bitline 64, a sense amplifier 70 may be used to determine thelogical state of a memory cell 66. For example, when a bitline 64 isactivated, along with a corresponding wordline 62, the logical state ofa memory cell 66 may be read by the sense amplifier 70. The senseamplifier 70 may then compare the read value to a reference value,amplify the difference between the two, and output the determined valueof the memory cell 66. As such, the sense amplifier 70 may draw powerfrom a power supply to amplify and hold the read value. Additionally, asillustrated, the sense amplifiers 70 for each bitline 64 may be locatedphysically on alternating sides of the section 60. However, in otherembodiments, the sense amplifiers 70 may be located on the same side ofthe section 60 or elsewhere depending on the application and design ofthe memory device 14.

When implementing the Fast Zero mode, logical 0s may be written to everymemory cell 66 of the memory array 22. To facilitate this functionality,the command decoder 26 may include a command controller 28 to receive aFast Zero command 78, as illustrated in FIG. 4. The command controller28 may include one or more individual controllers 80 and 82 to controlthe address sequencing when a particular mode command (e.g., Fast Zerocommand) is received. In the illustrated embodiment, the commandcontroller 28 includes a Fast Zero mode controller 80 and a secondaryother mode controller 82. The Fast Zero mode controller 80 may beimplemented alone or in conjunction with multiple other modecontrollers. The other mode controller 82 may provide control for one ormore additional modes of operation that may be used in the memory device14, depending on the application.

The Fast Zero command 78 may be asserted by one of the processors 16 inthe external controller 12 as part of the device power-up andinitialization sequence, for instance. Additionally or alternatively,the Fast Zero mode may be employed as part of an error-correcting code(ECC) implementation. As will be appreciated, a Fast Zero command 78 maybe sent at any appropriate time when the writing of 0s to the memoryarray 22 is desired. Additionally, while the Fast Zero mode of operationis utilized to write logical 0s to multiple memory locations, a similarmode register command may also be used to write other known values toeach of the memory locations (e.g., all logical 1s, or a specified andknown pattern).

Furthermore, the use of the Fast Zero mode to write logical 0s to all ora portion of the memory array 22 may be significantly faster than astandard write via the I/O interface 36. For example, a standard accessto a memory cell 66 may include both read and/or write steps. However,when employing the Fast Zero mode, the read step may be skipped, thusshortening the process time and optimizing system resources (e.g.,time). Generally, 0s may be written as regular data, cell-by-cell fromincoming data on the I/O interface 36. Thus, writing 0s across theentire memory array 22 may be relatively time consuming, especially forlarge capacity memory devices 14. However, the Fast Zero mode may allow0s, or another data pattern, to be repeated internally, using thecounters 30 to quickly access and write to each cell, and, therefore,not utilize incoming data on the I/O interface 36 and/or data path 52for each write. As such, during the Fast Zero mode, the I/O interface 36and/or data path 52 may be omitted from the write process, or its useminimized.

During the Fast Zero mode, internal memory addresses may be sequentiallyincremented by counters 30 to access the multiple memory cells 66. Inaccordance with one embodiment, the counters 30 may include a bank groupcounter 84, a bank address counter 86, a section address counter 88, arow address counter 90, and a column address counter 92.

In the illustrated embodiment, five counters 30 are provided in order tofacilitate the various groupings of memory cells 66 for sequentialaccess. Specifically, a bank group counter 84 is provided to switch fromone bank group to another during sequential accessing of the memoryarray 22. In one embodiment, the memory array 22 may include four bankgroups and the bank group counter 84 is a 2-bit counter. A bank addresscounter 86 may also be provided to switch from one bank to anotherduring access of the memory array 22. In one embodiment, the memoryarray 22 may include two or four memory banks 32 per one bank group andthe bank address counter 86 is a 1-bit or 2-bit counter. In oneembodiment, a section address counter 88 may also be implemented toprovide switching between sections 60 of a memory bank 32. In oneembodiment, each memory bank may include eight sections and the sectionaddress counter is a 3-bit counter. A row address counter 90 may also beprovided to switch from one wordline 62 to another during sequentialaccessing of the memory array 22. In one embodiment, the memory array 22may include 65,536 wordlines and the row address counter 90 is a 16-bitcounter. Finally, in the illustrated embodiment, a column addresscounter 92 may also be provided to switch from one set of column 68 toanother during sequential accessing of the memory array 22. In oneembodiment, the memory array 22 may include 128 column addresses and thecolumn address counter 92 is a 7-bit counter. In certain embodiments ofthe memory device 14, it may be that not all of the illustrated counters30 are utilized. For instance, certain memory devices 14 may only employone bank group. In such a device, the bank group counter 84 may not beutilized or may be omitted entirely from the memory device 14. Further,in certain embodiment of the memory device 14, additional counters 30may be employed if other groupings of memory cells 66 are utilized.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a flowchart 100 illustrating an exampleimplementation of the Fast Zero Mode is shown utilizing a column cyclingmethod. The Fast Zero mode controller 80 may first receive a Fast Zerocommand 78 (process block 102). Upon receipt of the Fast Zero command78, the Fast Zero mode controller 80 may issue an activate command to awordline 62 of the memory array 22 (process block 104). Additionally,multiple (e.g., four) wordlines 62 may be activated simultaneously tofurther reduce overall process time. After activating at least onewordline 62, along with at least one bitline 64, a 0 may be written to amemory cell 66 (process block 106). Multiple bitlines 64 may beactivated simultaneously in accordance with a column address. Afterwriting a 0 to a memory cell 66 of the activated wordline(s) 62 thebitline(s) 64 may be updated, for example, by progressing to asubsequent column address (process block 108). The Fast Zero modecontroller 80 and the column address counter 92 may be utilized tosequentially step through the bitlines 64 of the activated wordline(s)62. Additionally, multiple bitlines 64, columns 68, and/or columnaddresses may activated simultaneously to further reduce overall processtime. After sequencing through the bitlines 64, the activatedwordline(s) 62 may be pre-charged to deactivate them (process block110). The row address counter 90 may then update the process tosubsequent wordlines 62 until the end of the section 60 is reached(process block 112).

At the end of a section 60, the section address counter 88 may update toa subsequent section 60 until the end of the bank 32 is reached (processblock 114). At the end of the bank 32, the bank address counter 86 mayupdate to a subsequent bank 32 until the end of the bank group (processblock 116). At the end of the bank group, the bank group counter 84 mayupdate to a subsequent bank group until the end of the memory array 22(process block 118). Once the end of the memory array 22 has beenreached or all of the desired memory cells 66 have been written, theFast Zero mode may then be exited (process block 120).

Although the flowchart 100 is depicted in a particular order, in certainembodiments, steps may be reordered, altered, deleted, repeated, and/oroccur simultaneously. Additionally, in some embodiments, multiplewordlines 62, bitlines 64, columns 68, sections 60, memory banks 32,and/or bank groups may be activated and written to simultaneously. Forexample, the first wordline 62 of the first section 60 of all memorybanks 32 may be written to simultaneously. In some embodiments, eachmemory bank 32 may be activated and written to in parallel and, thus,neither a bank group counter 84 nor the bank address counter 86 need beincremented.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a timing diagram 130 utilizing thecolumn cycling method, as described in FIG. 5. Once the Fast Zerocommand 78 has been asserted, one or more wordlines 62 may be activated,as illustrated by pulse 132. While the wordline(s) 62 are activated,columns 68 may be cycled, as indicated by pulses 134, until the end ofthe wordline(s) 62 are reached (i.e., the end of the pulse 132). Thefirst wordline(s) 62 may then be pre-charged or deactivated before thenext wordline(s) 62 are activated, as indicated by pulse 136. Thisprocess may continue until the end of the section 60 is reached.

In an alternative embodiment, illustrated by a flowchart 140 in FIG. 7,a method of row copying may be utilized to sequentially write 0s to thememory cells 66. Row copying may include activating one or more awordlines 62, activating multiple bitlines 64 simultaneously, andactivating subsequent wordlines 62 without pre-charging until the end ofthe section 60. The method may begin with activating the Fast Zero modevia a Fast Zero command 78 (process block 142). A logical 0 may then beset in a write register to be written to the memory cells 66 (processblock 144). Additionally, one or more wordlines 62 may be activated(process block 146). Instead of cycling through each column 68 (e.g.,one at a time), multiple columns 68 (e.g., all) may be activated atonce, writing logical 0s to the multiple memory cells 66 of thewordline(s) 62 simultaneously (process block 148). As 0s are beingwritten, the sense amplifier 70 of each bitline 64 may also be driven to0. As other wordlines 62 are activated (process block 150), each mayhave 0s written to their memory cells 66 simultaneously. Because of thelack of pre-charge, the sense amplifiers 70 and/or the previouslywritten memory cells 66 of each bitline 64 may assist in writing thenewly activated wordlines 62 with logical 0s by sourcing or sinkingcurrent to or from the memory cell. In some embodiments, a slight pausemay be employed between activation of new wordlines 62 to preventoverriding the sense amplifier 70. As more wordlines 62 are activated,they may be activated one at a time or in groups (e.g., 4 wordlines 62at a time). When the end of the section 60 is reached, the section 60may be pre-charged to deactivate the wordlines 62 and bitlines 64(process block 152).

At the end of a section 60, the section address counter 88 may update toa subsequent section 60 until the end of the bank 32 is reached (processblock 154). At the end of the bank 32, the bank address counter 86 mayupdate to a subsequent bank 32 until the end of the bank group (processblock 156). At the end of the bank group, the bank group counter 84 mayupdate to a subsequent bank group until the end of the memory array 22(process block 158). Once the end of the memory array 22 has beenreached or all of the desired memory cells 66 have been written, theFast Zero mode may then be exited (process block 160).

Although the flowchart 140 is depicted in a particular order, in certainembodiments, steps may be reordered, altered, deleted, repeated, and/oroccur simultaneously. Additionally, in some embodiments, multiplewordlines 62, bitlines 64, columns 68, sections 60, memory banks 32,and/or bank groups may be activated simultaneously or one at a time. Forexample, the first wordline 62 of the first section 60 of all memorybanks 32 may be written to simultaneously. In some embodiments, eachmemory bank 32 may be activated and written to in parallel and, thus,neither a bank group counter 84 nor the bank address counter 86 need beincremented.

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a timing diagram 162 utilizing arow copy method, as described in FIG. 7. Once the Fast Zero command 78has been asserted, a logical 0 may be set in the write register and oneor more wordlines WL0 may be activated along with multiple (e.g., all)bitlines 64. While the first set of one or more wordlines WL0 isactivated, the multiple bitlines 64 may be activated by activating oneor more columns 68 in sequence, as depicted, or multiple (e.g., all) atonce depending on the implementation. Because multiple bitlines 64 arebeing activated at once and a logical 0 has been already set in thewrite register, a delay 172 may occur before the sense amplifiers 70 ofthe multiple bitlines 64 are fully driven to 0. Once a 0 has been drivento the sense amplifiers 70, one or more other wordlines WL1 may then beactivated. Because the wordline(s) WL0 and bitlines 64 were notpre-charged, and are, therefore, still active, the active wordline(s)WL0 may then be copied to the other wordline(s) WL1 without cyclingthough or reactivating the columns 68 again. Further wordlines WL2 maybe activated until the end of the section 60 is reached. During the rowcopy method, the sense amplifiers 70 and/or the previously writtenmemory cells 66 may assist in driving newly activated wordlines WL1 andWL2 and their associated memory cells 66 to logical 0. Because thecolumns 68 are activated during the first set of one or more wordlinesWL0 and not pre-charged, writing the rest of the section 60 to logical 0may not involve cycling though and/or reactivating the columns 68multiple times. As such, the row copy method may lead to increased writespeeds, and, therefore, faster operation of the Fast Zero mode.Depending on the implementation, activating multiple columns 68 and/orwordlines 62 simultaneously may increase current draw. As with thecolumn cycling method, the logical 0s may be written to the memory array22 without input from the I/O interface 36.

As described above, certain modes of operation, such as the Fast Zeromode, may facilitate sequential access to individual memory cells 66 ofa memory array 22. The sequential access may be employed in multiplefashions that may be altered or combined. To facilitate thisfunctionality, a command controller 28 may be provided, including one ormore individual controllers to control the address sequencing when aparticular mode entry command (e.g., Fast Zero command 78) is received.In order to generate internal addresses to be accessed sequentially, oneor more counters 30 may also be provided.

While the current techniques may be susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and have been described in detail herein.However, it should be understood that the current techniques are notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather,instead the present embodiments are intended to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thepresent techniques as defined by the following appended claims.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

1. A memory device comprising: a memory array comprising a plurality ofmemory cells; a plurality of bitlines; a plurality of wordlines, whereineach wordline of the plurality of wordlines is coupled to a memory cellof the plurality of memory cells at an intersection with a bitline ofthe plurality of bitlines, wherein after a first set of one or morewordlines of the plurality of wordlines has been written with logicalzeros, a second set of one or more wordlines of the plurality ofwordlines is configured to be activated simultaneously with the firstset of one or more wordlines to facilitate writing logical zeros to oneor more memory cells coupled to the second set of one or more wordlines;and a plurality of sense amplifiers, wherein, in response to the secondset of one or more wordlines being activated simultaneously with thefirst set of one or more wordlines, the plurality of sense amplifiersare configured to assist in writing logical zeros to the one or morememory cells coupled to the second set of one or more wordlines.
 2. Thememory device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sense amplifiers areconfigured to assist in writing logical zeros by sourcing or sinkingcurrent to or from the plurality of memory cells.
 3. (canceled)
 4. Thememory device of claim 1, wherein when the first set of one or morewordlines is activated, the plurality of bitlines is configured to beactivated and remain activated simultaneously to facilitate writinglogical zeros to the first set of one or more wordlines.
 5. (canceled)6. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the second set of wordlinescomprises at least two wordlines.
 7. The memory device of claim 1,wherein the memory device comprises one or more counters configured tocycle through internal memory addresses to sequentially access theplurality of memory cells and facilitate writing logical zeros to all ofthe plurality of memory cells.
 8. The memory device of claim 7, whereinthe memory device comprises a command controller configured to receiveone or more commands to initiate the writing of logical zeros andcontrol the one or more counters.
 9. The memory device of claim 8,wherein the one or more commands comprises a Fast Zero command to entera Fast Zero mode.
 10. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the FastZero command is a part of an error-correcting code (ECC) process. 11.The memory device of claim 7, wherein sequentially accessing theplurality of memory cells does not include a reading of the plurality ofmemory cells.
 12. The memory device of claim 1, wherein the memorydevice writes logical zeros to the memory array without receiving thelogical zeros from an input/output interface.
 13. The memory device ofclaim 1, wherein the memory device comprises a double data rate typefive synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR5 SDRAM).
 14. A systemcomprising: a controller; and a memory device communicatively coupled tothe controller, wherein the memory device comprises: a memory arraycomprising: a plurality of wordlines each coupled to a plurality ofmemory cells; and a plurality of bitlines, wherein each memory cell ofthe plurality of memory cells comprises an intersection of one of theplurality of wordlines and one of the plurality of bitlines; and acommand controller configured to receive a command from the controllerand facilitate copying a data pattern from a first wordline of theplurality of wordlines to a second wordline of the plurality ofwordlines by having the first wordline, the second wordline, and atleast one bitline activated simultaneously, wherein the at least onebitline is coupled to at least one sense amplifier, wherein the at leastone sense amplifier is configured to be set to a logical value of thedata pattern of the first wordline and, in response to activation of thesecond wordline, assist in writing the data pattern to the secondwordline by sourcing or sinking current to a memory cell of theplurality of memory cells coupled to the second wordline.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the first wordline and the at least one bitline areconfigured to be activated before the second wordline.
 16. (canceled)17. The system of claim 14, wherein the data pattern is all logicalzeros.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the memory device comprisesone or more counters configured to generate internal memory addresses tosequentially access the plurality of wordlines, the plurality ofbitlines, or a combination thereof to write the data pattern to thememory array.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein four of the pluralityof wordlines are accessed and written to simultaneously.
 20. A method,comprising: in response to the assertion of a command, accessing a firstplurality of memory cells of a first wordline of a plurality ofwordlines of a memory device; writing logical zeros to the firstplurality of memory cells via a write register; and accessing a secondplurality of memory cells by activating a second wordline of theplurality of wordlines, wherein the first wordline is not pre-chargedbefore activation of the second wordline, wherein a plurality ofbitlines and a plurality of sense amplifiers are accessed simultaneouslywith the first wordline and the second wordline, wherein the senseamplifiers are configured to drive logical zeros to the second pluralityof memory cells of the second wordline.
 21. (canceled)
 22. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the first wordline assists in driving logical zeros tothe second wordline.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein the pluralityof wordlines comprises all of the wordlines of a section, wherein all ofthe wordlines of the section are pre-charged simultaneously after all ofthe wordlines of the section have been written with a logical zero. 24.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the first set of one or morewordlines is configured to be written with logical zeros via a logicalzero set in a write register.
 25. The memory device of claim 20, whereinthe command comprises a Fast Zero mode entry command.